After having dug to a depth of 10ft last year, Manchester scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 100 years. They came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network more than 100 years ago.

Not to be outdone by the Mancs, in the weeks that followed, a Birmingham archaeologist dug to a depth of 20ft and, shortly after, a story in The Times read: "A Birmingham archaeologist, finding a 200-year-old copper wire, has concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications network a hundred years earlier than the Mancs."

One week later the Redruth edition of The West Briton reported the following: "After digging as deep as 30ft, in his meadow near Shallow Adit, Treeve Pendarves, a self-taught archaeologist, reported that he found absolutely nothing. He has, therefore, concluded that 300 years ago, Redruth had already gone wireless."